The Golden Eagle Festival: a guide

Of everything we run, the Golden Eagle Festival is the trip people travel the furthest specifically to see. It takes place in the far west of the country, among the Kazakh eagle hunters of the Altai, and it is unlike anything else in Mongolia.

When is the Golden Eagle Festival?

The main festival is held in early October — usually the first weekend of the month — in Bayan-Ölgii, Mongolia’s westernmost province. Unlike Naadam, whose dates are fixed nationally, the eagle festival is set by its organizers each year, so the exact dates move a little. There is also a smaller eagle festival in September. If your trip hinges on the festival, write to us and we’ll confirm the year’s dates before you book flights — our 8-day Golden Eagle tour is timed to the main October event.

Who the eagle hunters are

Western Mongolia is home to a large ethnic Kazakh population, and among them the tradition of hunting with golden eagles — berkutchi — has been passed down for generations. A hunter trains a female golden eagle, hunts with her through the winter for fox and hare, and after some years releases her back to the wild to breed. It is a genuine working relationship, not a show put on for visitors. Falconry — the broader tradition this belongs to — is recognized on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

What happens over the festival

The two days are part competition, part gathering of families who have come in from across the Altai:

• Calling the eagles — the centerpiece. Each eagle is released from a hillside and judged on how quickly and directly she returns to her hunter’s arm when called. On a good flight she drops out of the sky onto the glove in seconds.
• Horseback skill — riders compete at traditional Kazakh games, including kokpar (a tug-of-war on horseback) and coin-pick-ups at full gallop.
• Costume and kit — hunters wear full embroidered fox-fur dress; the eagles, hoods, and hand-tooled gear are judged too.

Around the arena it is a social occasion — food, music, reunions — as much as a contest.

Where it is, and getting there

Bayan-Ölgii is about as far from Ulaanbaatar as you can get in Mongolia — roughly 1,600 km west. The sensible way there is to fly from Ulaanbaatar to Ölgii (a few hours versus days of driving), which is how our tour reaches it. From Ölgii you’re at the foot of Altai Tavan Bogd, Mongolia’s highest massif, so the festival pairs naturally with a few days in the Western Mongolia high country and a visit to a Kazakh eagle-hunting family in their own home.

Planning a trip around it

• Book early. This is a small festival in a remote place with limited beds and limited flights. October dates sell out months ahead.
• Come for the cold. Early October in the Altai is genuinely cold — frosts, possibly snow. Bring serious layers. The light, though, is extraordinary.
• Pair it with the Altai. Three or four days around Tavan Bogd and a family stay turn a two-day festival into a proper trip — see the best time to visit Mongolia for how October fits the wider season.
• Confirm the dates with us first before you commit to international flights, since they shift year to year.

If you’d like to build a trip around the Golden Eagle Festival, write to us with your year and rough dates and we’ll shape the route — flights, the festival, the Altai, and a family visit — around them. Baska replies personally, in writing.